August 11, 2013 Dear Ones, Today is clear, warmish, and sunny. I hope the monsoons are not over. They have given us our only rain for ages. And the grass leaps up as if it would never see moisture again. We look like Ireland, believe me. A day after Abel cuts it, back it is, waving in the breeze. This morning we had a squirrel at Mass—well, not inside, but…
We are getting used to seeing Cathy in her new black veil. Cathy came to us from the Missionary Sisters of Korea, and has her Green Card for US Permanent Residency. She is a delightful, talented and generous sister to us all, and we are grateful for such a gift of God. Her darling mother, in a traditional Korean dress she had made for herself, was our…
June 24, 2013 Dear Friends, We keep getting forecasts of rain. We even get congratulations on same. The only thing we don’t get is rain. I spent a week in Kentucky for a meeting, and the air was so humid you could wring it out. We do have a bit of humidity—monsoons are upon us—but it never coalesces into water. The meeting I attended, for directors of the Junior Professed,…
June 8, 2013 Dear ones, We had the most wonderful community day for Cathy’s Profession. What we do in these circumstances is to descend upon the kitchen and pitch in together to prepare the meal for next day as far as we can ahead. So on the Profession Day we are free to concentrate on the Big Spiritual Event without getting caught up in the lunch. It’s a wee bit…
June 6, 2013 Dear Friends, It feels as if the monsoon has begun. They date it by the dew point, but one can feel the humidity, and the increasing heat. This does not mean we will get rain. We can hope, of course, and pray. It would be so nice to have rain. The grass panics at the first drops and shoot sup greenly, so that we look like Ireland.…
May 16, 2013 Dear Friends, A couple of quail have taken up residence outside my window. There are few things cuter than quail. Our Iris season is almost gone. Great gratitude to the hybridizers. Think of it: huge white ones with orange beards; yellow with white falls edged with more yellow; velvety, deep wine; pale blue; very dark purple; multi-colored stripes —and when they stand there in all their majesty…
APRIL 19, 2013 All the news is from Boston, if it is not from Korea. Why do we hurt each other so? All the news pours into a monastery's heart and runs out as prayer. We try. What else can we do but keep trying to love, and keep trying to rest in the sacrificial heart of Christ? A friend sent the loveliest video study of Boston--Boston before the disaster.…
March 19, 2013 Sisters who have been in town for appointments or shopping tell us that people they have never met stop them to ask what they think about the new pope. It seems kind of sad that we should be so happy about a man who is simple, loving, and gifted with a touch for the other. Very sad, because shouldn’t every pope be that? Shouldn’t we all be…
March 14, 2013 Well, it was quite a day. I was wondering why we had had no black smoke after the fourth scrutiny. I guess it was all wrapped up by then. But what were they thinking to wait a whole hour after the announcement, with the poor, soaking faithful in the square, and us hanging feverishly before our computers. Wasn’t he dear standing there with his arms down, and…
March 7, 2013 Dear Ones, I don’t know about you, but WE are having spring. The little potted Hawthorne is in bloom, and the ornamental pear in the garth is about to bloom. Its buds are fat and promising. The air is no longer slashing at our faces, but softly soothing them with balmy air. Yes, I am sure that some of you are still under the snow, or looking…
